US boycott Olympics

The US Government recently announced the boycott of Olympics 2022. The Olympics 2022 is to be held in Beijing. The US cited that “China’s human rights ATTROCITIES” is the main reason for its boycott. The US has named the boycott as “Diplomatic Boycott”.

What is Diplomatic Boycott?

It means that the US is not sending any official or diplomatic representation to the participate in the Olympics. However, US is allowing the American athletes to participate in the Olympics.

Why is US boycotting Olympics 2022?

The US is boycotting for the following human rights atrocities of China:

• Situations in Taiwan and Tibet
• The crackdown in Hong Kong
• Abuse of minority Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang

US Previously boycotted in 1980

Previously, the US boycotted the Olympics completely in 1980. Then the boycott was to protest against the Soviet Union military presence in Afghanistan. In December 1979, the Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan supporting the Afghan communist government. The soviet then remained in Afghanistan till 1989. In 1980, around 60 countries refused to compete in Olympics along with the US. This included China, Japan, Canada, Israel and West Germany.

China’s Boycott

The Chinese Government boycotted the Olympics in 1972. According to China, in 1972, the International Olympics Committee failed to recognize its team.

What is the issue?

China is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics. This is the first time in the Olympics history that a country is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics.  The Summer and Winter Olympics are held once in four years. The Summer Olympics is generally referred to as Olympics with more number of countries participating. On the other hand, the Winter Olympics is relatively smaller event. The summer Olympics are held once in four years, mainly during the leap years. The winter Olympics are held two years after the leap year. The Summer Olympics were held in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, etc. And the Winter Olympics were held in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc. China hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and is now to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.

How is China hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics?

Around six potential cities of Europe dropped out of the bidding due to doping scandal. Also, the price tag of 51 billion USD also drove away bidders. This led to getting down to two candidates. One was China and the other was Kazakhstan.

How is Olympic host city chosen?

The major cities from the world make competitive bids every two years to the International Olympics Committee. This is done seven years before the games. The IOC then makes rigorous audits to check if the city bided is capable to host the games. This is because, the city has to accommodate large number of sports person, government delegates, should provide security, etc. Based on these factors and the bidding, the members cast their votes. The winning city hosts the games.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2021